By Ruth Hill R.N.
Rather than starting from scratch, President Trump is igniting the stalled Biden-era rescheduling work by preparing an executive order directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana to Schedule 3. An order along these lines would tell DOJ and DEA to finish the existing rule, skip a lengthy evidentiary hearing, and move cannabis into the same schedule as many prescription drugs while keeping it illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.
The idea surfaced during an Oval Office discussion with Speaker Mike Johnson, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CMS chief Mehmet Oz, and several industry executives. Mike Johnson and many GOP representatives argued against rescheduling
No decision has yet to be made by The White House.
A move to Schedule 3 would not change basic criminal penalties overnight. Yet, it would ease research barriers and remove Section 280E from state-licensed cannabis businesses, which is the single most significant federal tax shift they have ever been offered.
Section 280E states, “No deduction or credit shall be allowed… on any trade or business if such trade or business… consists of trafficking in controlled substances… which is prohibited by Federal law or the law of any State in which such trade or business is conducted.”
The move also hands the Supreme Court an easy way to stay out of the broadest cannabis cases for now, including a live challenge to federal prohibition and several 280E fights that rest on marijuana’s place in the schedule table, because the political branches can argue that they are finally adjusting the system themselves.
Specifically, rescheduling fails to harmonize federal marijuana policy with the cannabis laws of most states, particularly the 24 states that have legalized its use and sale to adults — thereby leaving those who produce, dispense, possess, or use marijuana in compliance with state laws in jeopardy of federal prosecution. To rectify this state/federal conflict, and to provide state governments with the explicit authority to establish their own cannabis regulatory policies — like they already possess with respect to alcohol — cannabis must be removed from the Controlled Substances Act altogether. Please make your voice heard. The goal is 102,400 letters. Cut and paste the following letter and put it into your own words. Legislators do not like canned emails. Use the following links:
President Donald J. Trump: president@whitehouse.gov
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
U.S. Senator Adam Schiff: schiff.senate.gov/contact
U.S. Senator Alex Padilla: padilla.senate.gov/contact
U.S. Representative Ken Calvert: calvert.house.gov/contact
“This letter is to express my full support for all options to repeal national cannabis prohibition and begin granting clemency for anyone still imprisoned for federal marijuana offenses. More than two-thirds of Americans think that it is time to bring the failed experiment of marijuana prohibition to a swift and conclusive end and undo the damage it has caused. I strongly urge President Trump and Congress to take action to deschedule cannabis by removing it completely from the Controlled Substances Act. In addition, the White House should immediately expand marijuana clemency efforts, and Congress should quickly pass legislation to provide a pathway for marijuana record expungements.
There are still hundreds of thousands of cannabis consumers getting arrested annually for simple possession at the state level. Law enforcement patrolling federal property, such as National Parks, tribal land, and elsewhere, are also still arresting people for small amounts of cannabis and other minor marijuana offenses.
Millions of Americans have been harassed, arrested, prosecuted, jailed, and otherwise penalized over a few grams of cannabis. Even more have been denied jobs, education, and housing. Countless lives have been disrupted at significant cost. Marijuana prohibition is unjust and untenable.
Tens of millions of voters have gathered at the polls in decades of elections to pass state laws reducing or eliminating penalties for cannabis across the country. Federal law must catch up to resolve the legal conflict with these states and begin repairing the harms caused by these outdated policies.
That’s why we are demanding justice by urging you to support removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and expanding conviction relief now. Thank you.”
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